A Series Of Darby

What I get from her when I pull out the camera is, "Mom, picture meeeeeee!"

That girl is so expressive. And a major ham.

Chompers

Look who has two teeth now?

Trick or Treat

Jason took the kids trick or treating around the neighborhood tonight while I stayed home with Paige and handed out candy. She was mesmerized by all the costumes coming to our door. Things must have looked pretty interesting from her limited experience. She tried to grab candy from the bowl too. I finally put her in her exersaucer in the doorway and opened the door to let her watch. Brendan was not feeling well so he came home after one house. You can see him on the couch in the background here.

There were LOTS of kids in the neighborhood and we had a steady stream for about an hour. After 7:15 or so, we didn't get another trick or treater. I ended up with about two handfuls of candy left. Not bad.

Daddy and the girls were gone for an hour and a half. When they got back I noticed that Darby's bag was very light. Jason told me that she unwrapped a lollipop, put it in her mouth and was happy to just bop up the street without going to any houses. Apparently she doesn't fully get the concept of trick or treating yet.

Eva was also missing the headband part of her costume when she got back. When asked where it was, she told me, "I took it off." Oh really? She has no idea where it ended up. Oh well, at least we have a picture.

After they were all in bed I raided the candy bags, not a bad haul but woefully short on chocolate. Apparently, Dum Dums and Tootsie Rolls are the candy of choice this year.

Happy Halloween

Trunk or Treat on Saturday. Halloween trick or treating today. The older three are SO excited. The youngest, not so much.

The lion cub

The ladybug

The fairy

Batman

Happy Halloween!!

Trouble

I came into the living room this morning to find this. Guess the coffee table is no longer a safe zone, and soon, nothing will be.

Pumpkin time

Brendan and Eva have been looking forward to carving a pumpkin for weeks now. We decided it would be a fun thing to do for Family Home Evening. The girls painted their Gillis Hill pumpkins.

Eva painted one for Paige too.

Darby painted with both hands, which I found funny. Guess she couldn't decide on the color.

Brendan helped Dad carve the big family pumpkin. He did NOT like touching the gooey insides but Jason talked him into it. He gagged but did it.

Eva pulled some out too though she wasn't as grossed out as Brendan.

Here's the finished product.

Gettysburg Staff Ride

Jason here. Last week the senior leadership in our battalion went on a staff ride to Gettysburg to study the tactics and logistics of the great Civil War battle that took place there. When I first heard what was going on I was so excited that I emailed the guy planning it that I NEEDED to go. Yes I am a dentist, but I was a history major in college and I focused on American history. I had to go.
What made the trip even cooler was that we were going to parachute onto a drop zone near the battlefield. We tried to jump onto Gettysburg but apparently they have rules against that. I was the jumpmaster for the 5 pass, which meant that I had to get everyone ready, spot the drop zone, and then get my guys out over the right spot. It was a miserable jump. There were high winds and we had to wait for over an hour before we could jump. That means one hour of circling trying not to get motion sick.

This is my buddy with his head down focusing on not barfing. We were kind of linked because if he went... I was going to go too along with half the other guys in the plane. Not fun.
Well, we finally got clearance to jump. The drop zone was short, had a large pond on it, power lines, high trees, a paved road, and was slanted. And there were high winds. I landed hard, harder than I have landed in a long time. In fact, I hit so hard that I could hear audible "ooooohhhhs" from the people at the turn in point nearby. I got a little whiplash from landing feet-buns-head. I remember sitting there a little stunned by how hard I hit while getting dragged by the wind. I popped my parachute straps which stopped me from getting dragged and started recovering my equipment.

It was a beautiful day and the Pennsylvania countryside was nice with its hints of fall. Here is me with my parachute and gear. Soon after this picture was taken the chaplain came by to check on me. I joked with him that he came to see if I need last rites after my torpedo landing.
Afterwards we drove to our hotel to get settled for our staff ride for the next few days.

Guy in the hat is our guide. He is a military historian from Westpoint. He knew amazing amounts of information. What our experience entailed was to go through the battle more or less sequentially from the key points where decisions were made. We analyzed the terrain and discussed other possible courses of action. It was more than just a tour. It was incredible. Here are a few photos from some of the locations of the battle.

The Wheatfield. This spot changed hands 6 times on the second day of savage fighting.

The 3rd GSC Med section on Little Round Top.

The Devil's Den. So named by the locals before the battle for this huge snake that supposedly lived there.

Heres the vet catching said snake above Devil's Den.

Another view from the Round Top.

The Tour guide pointing to a spot on Cemetery Ridge where many, many people died on the 1st day of fighting. It was eerie at times walking around this place. A lot of blood was spilled and a lot of people suffered and showed incredible courage. It was humbling.

There were monuments everywhere. I think there is a rough count of 1400 monuments on the battlefield.

The Peach Orchard. Sounds so innocuous, but in Civil War terms it is synonymous with desperate bloody fighting.

I took a lot of pictures. It was an amazing trip, better than Disneyland for me. I can't wait to take the family.

Goodbye Charlie

I looked in the fish tank one day to see that Charlie wasn't moving. He had been acting oddly for a while now and we knew his days were numbered. Sadly, Charlie the betta fish had passed away. Brendan wasn't home so I flushed him. Brendan wasn't that sad when he found out since we had told him Charlie wasn't doing so well long ago.
So, on a daddy daughter date night, Jason took Eva to the pet store and this time she got to pick out a fish. She chose a small blue betta (Charlie was big and red).
When they got home and Eva showed me, I asked her what the fish's name was going to be. I started suggesting flowery names, clever names and funny names, all of which met with an exasperated look or a "No Mom." Then Jason pipes up with a suggestion, "How about Jim?" Of course the daddy's girl replies excitedly, "Yeah Dad! His name is Jim!"
So welcome Jim the fish to our home. Sigh.

Gillis Hill Saturday

As you might know, it is a tradition in our family to go to a corn field maze in October. Jason and I have done this for ten years. We found out that there was one pretty close to us so that's where we went this year. It is at Gillis Hill Farms, a fully operational farm in Fayetteville. At this particular corn field maze during the day it is educational for the kiddos. Each turn has a question with different answer choices that guide you along the maze. Our kids had a great time with this. Brendan especially enjoyed learning about the state of North Carolina (which was the theme of the maze this year). He occasionally went too fast and I had to remind him to slow down for the short legs and distractable mind of Darby.

I know I learned a few interesting facts about the state too. Did you know Pepsi was invented here? At the midpoint was an open clearing with tables to rest and a display of some silly laws still on the books in NC.

After exiting the maze, kids were allowed a free pumpkin. Bonus!!

Then we went to the produce stand and sampled their homemade pumpkin bread. Yum! We saw there was a hay ride and waited for the next one to start up. The older kids loved the ride through the farm. Brendan chatted a bit with the farmer too. We found out that the farm had been in operation since the 1750s! Eva found another family and defected to sit with them the entire ride. She is just so friendly.

The hay ride ended at the ice cream shop where we each got a cup. I, of course, chose the pumpkin ice cream (sense a theme here? ) and shared with Paige. She liked it as much as I did.

Darby was super tired (read: cranky) by the end of our morning and I was glad to make it home for naptime. All in all, a successful family outing that we will have to repeat next year.

Daddies are good for . . .

Giving hugs,

Teaching you to ride a bike,

Playing board games,

Letting you help with dinner,

And letting you snitch.

Family Pictures Round 1

I have spent over a month planning our family picture shoot this morning. I bought the kids new, color matching clothes. I researched my new camera and remote. I set up practice shots with my tripod. I googled when to find the best light. Sadly, it all fell apart.
I should have known to put halt to everything the moment Darby screamed about the sweater she had to wear (but she LOVED from the moment she saw it, just not today). Things did not go as planned. After the family shot fell apart with running away and crying and a time out, I was able to get some great shots of the kids individually.
We will try again next weekend for a beautiful family shot. The one hanging up on my wall now is over 2 years old. I was very disappointed and angry. I guess the good thing about doing it my self is that we didn't waste any money, it's all about wasted time (and wanting to sell your two year old to the gypsies).
Here are some outtakes.